Six of the World’s Best Luxury Yoga Retreats
Whether you’re a curious yogi or an advanced practitioner, a yoga retreat can help you develop your skills, advance your practice and, of course, re-balance your mind, body and soul.
If tranquillity is your main objective, there is nothing more stress-relieving than time spent tapping into this ancient practice, which can be traced back some 5,000 years, through expert-led classes with a dedicated guru. Yoga retreats offer more than just Downward Dogs, they provide a sanctuary for those seeking to indulge in absolute relaxation, renewal and rejuvenation and offer the ultimate holistic wellness experience.
Here is The Luxury Spa Edit’s pick of six of the best luxury yoga retreat destinations around the globe.
Ananda in the Himalayas, India – best for ancient Indian healing practices
Set on 100-acres of lush grounds at the foothills of the Himalayas, in the luxurious splendour of the Viceregal Palace, Ananda was once home to the Maharajah of Tehri Garhwal. Overlooking the spiritual town of Rishikesh, yoga’s spiritual home, it is an award-winning destination resort that immerses guests in ancient Indian healing practices.
Ananda reimagines the Indian tradition of retreating to the peace and quiet of the mountains to find a harmony and balance, and is the perfect antidote to modern life. The resort integrates traditional Ayurveda, yoga and Vedanta, and employs experienced Bihar School yoga teachers to design guests’ programmes. Every guest revives a tailored therapy and activity programmes, designed to meet your own individual needs and health goals.
Ananda’s dedicated Yoga Programme promises to help you cultivate the ancient discipline of yoga to recharge and enhance your clarity of thought. The seven or 14-night programme focuses on achieving a particular physiological, psychological or spiritual goal. In addition, the seven, 14 or 21-night Yogic Detox Programme uses Asana and Pranayama breathing, as well as traditional Hatha yogic cleansing techniques to activate your organs and prepare them for the cleansing.
Ananda is cited as one of the best luxury Ayurvedic retreats in the world, and it’s easy to see why. It offers a total experience for anyone wishing to heal, cleanse, relax, restore balance and embrace yoga and holistic wellbeing.
Euphoria Retreat, Greece – best for healing and transformation
Euphoria Retreat is a standout holistic wellness resort, offering one of the world’s ultimate healthy holidays. With a focus on transformation, it guides guests on a journey to self-discovery and restoration. The ultimate goal? Achieving a state of euphoria.
Steeped in Mediterranean history, Euphoria Retreat embraces the ancient Hellenic concept of a blissful life. Personalised to each guest, you’ll enjoy experiences based on the principles of Asclepia and Hippocratic medicine coupled with modern techniques. Founder Marina Efraimoglou has created a series of programmes and retreats inspired by Greek and Chinese healing philosophies and enriched by the concept of the five elements – water, wood, fire, earth and metal.
The three, five or seven-day Yoga Retreat at Euphoria promises mindfulness through movement, meditation and healing practices. The programme blends daily private yoga sessions with outdoor movement meditation, Pranayama breathing techniques and healing practices, with the goals of personal empowerment, improved physical strength, better energy levels and spiritual balance.
Euphoria Retreat also has a world-class spa offering ancient healing traditions, energy healing, homeopathic consultations, acupuncture and a range of bodywork. The aim is to nourish, strengthen and inspire each guest so you leave feeling well and ready to continue living well.
Six Senses Vana, India – best for a journey of self-discovery
Six Senses Vana is a sanctuary for rebalancing, healing and learning in the Himilayan foothills, dedicated to helping guests achieve their spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual potential. A space that’s mission is to serve as a leveller, Six Senses Vana urges guests to come as you are and connect to each other and nature, without limitation.
Vana means forest and the 21-acre Six Senses retreat sits near Dehradun in India, close to Sal Forest reserves and Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga. The seven or 14-night Yoga at Six Senses Vana Programme includes six private sessions, guided meditation and breathwork, plus signature Ayurvedic massages, energy treatments and Tibetan therapies. It has been designed to provide a path to start the journey towards greater personal wellbeing.
The Yogic Detox Retreat prepares and equips you to manage stress, enhances mental clarity, and improves energy and immunity. As well as private yoga sessions including Asana, breathwork and meditation, it includes a Yogic Cleansing, three Ayurvedic therapies and two detox therapies.
At Six Senses Vana, every aspect of the programming is personalised according to each guest’s needs, for a transformational journey. Stays incorporate traditional practices such as Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine alongside the latest complementary therapies. Guests are encouraged to come with an intention which, when nourished during their retreat, will go on to help guide them through life.
Absolute Sanctuary, Koh Samui, Thailand – best for an authentic Thai wellness journey
Asia’s top wellness fitness resort, Absolute Sanctuary is in an idyllic setting on Thailand’s Koh Samui, known as the ‘island of healing’. Promising to help guests find physical, mental and spiritual balance, it offers 22 different programmes across 15 categories. Absolute Sanctuary is the place to reconnect, recharge, revitalise and re-energise, with the help of a team of wellness practitioners who are experts in everything from art and sound therapy to astrology, reiki, emotional release, mindfulness and massage.
Part of Thailand’s largest health and lifestyle brand, The Absolute, which has 15 years’ experience running Absolute Yoga studios, the brand is well placed to help you enhance your practice. All programmes include a consultation with bio-impedance analysis, nutritionally balanced superfood meals, activities and treatments based on your chosen route.
Available in five, seven and 10-day options, the Yoga Retreat at Absolute Sanctuary teaches every element of the ancient practice, from stretching thoroughly to Pranyama breath control throughout and Yoga Nidra. The retreat is ideal for anyone, whether you’re a complete beginner or a dedicated practitioner. It promises to bring you deeper into your yoga practice, with unlimited daily classes and mindful inward reflection, combined with healthy meals, refreshing juices, and relaxing massages.
Kamalaya Koh Samui, Thailand – best for a complete spiritual reset
There’s a special energy at Kamalaya Koh Samui, a tranquil healing hideaway revered for centuries by Buddhist monks as a sanctuary for spiritual retreat. Today the resort offers guests a similarly profound experience that enriches and enlightens.
Kamalaya Koh Samui offers you the opportunity to experience the sacredness of solitude alongside the joy of community. At its heart is a cave once inhabited by Buddhist monks for meditation – a tradition that is continued with the Monk’s Cave, always open for contemplation and meditation.
Kamalaya’s multi-award-winning healing programmes include solutions for everything from stress and burnout to weight control and sleep enhancement. It’s one-to-one Personal Yoga Synergy Retreat offers an experience that includes personal time with a yoga teacher, plus a wellness consultant and a life enhancement mentor. As well as instruction in the physical practices of the Asanas, Pranayamic breathwork and meditation techniques, you’ll learn a sequence to follow at home, delving deeper into challenging asanas and learning to integrate your practices more deeply into a yogic lifestyle.
Suitable for both beginners and experienced yogis, and available for three, five, seven, 14 or 21 days, the programme is adapted to your level and needs. There’s the chance to practice postures to suit your body, and to work with correct alignment around injuries or redress postural imbalances.
Kamalaya transcends the usual spa experience and is a place where you can reconnect with your inner self to rejuvenate your mind and body, while harnessing the healing power of nature.
Fivelements, Bali – best for an eco yoga retreat
Nestled near the Ayung River and surrounded by lush jungle vegetation, Fivelements Retreat Bali is an award-winning, eco-conscious wellness retreat. It offers healing rituals and journeys deeply rooted in ancient Balinese healing traditions, spiritual healing and sacred arts – inspired by the ancient Balinese philosophy, Tri Kaya Parisudha.
Fivelements Bali is focused on developing high-impact wellness strategies, and as such every stay is as unique the person visiting. The resort offers three personalised retreat programmes lasting from three to 14 nights, with a choice of pathways available to suit your specific needs. The Signature Fivelements Retreat is best for a yoga focus and includes holistic Balinese-inspired therapies administered by healers. These include yoga, bodycare rituals, massages, energy work and a Balinese fire blessing ritual.
Alternatives are the Holistic Purifying Retreat, based around a plant-based detox, or the Signature Culinary Retreat, which is a gastronomic journey to boost beauty, health and longevity. Every wellness holiday at Fivelements Bali also includes unique experiences such as trips to hidden cave temples or a trek to a mountain rainforest with a local healer.